Education Trust

NZRDA Education Trust

Financial support for RMO training and education

The NZRDA Education Trust provides financial support for the furtherance and protection of the education or training of RMOs in all aspects of medical practice in NZ.

The objects of the Trust are:

The provision of financial assistance towards the establishment and conduct of training seminars and conferences.

The provision of financial assistance towards the production of newsletters, brochures, training manuals whether printed or visual, and other training materials and aids for RMOs.

The creation and funding of scholarships, bursaries, grants or prizes awarded to RMOs engaged or wishing to be engaged in the medical profession in NZ to assist the further education and training of those persons both within NZ and overseas.

The education of, and provision of information to, the medical profession and/or the general public in NZ regarding matters and issues of relevance to the education or training of RMOs in NZ.

Trustees and Grant Recipients

Trustee Dr Kate O’Connor talks about the Trust and the role of the trustees.

Brochure for new registrars

Dr Katherine Hulme embarked upon a project to collect wisdom from current registrars to pass on to the next generation. With the help of the NZRDA Education Trust, she’s published a brochure, which you can view by clicking below.

RDA members gathered at Sky City in Auckland in September 2016 for the NZRDA Education Trust Clinical Governance Conference. We surveyed attendees about their experience of the event: read a summary of the conference survey results.

A Health Quality and Safety Commission (HQSC) workshop on Clinical Leadership was held in Wellington in July 2016. The workshop, funded by the Education Trust and organised by the RDA, was attended by around 50 RDA members, and aimed to help develop clinical leadership for quality and safety. Read the report from the workshop.

The Trust sponsored Dr Sara Moeke, Dr Deborah Powell, Dr Sam Holford and NZRDA Advocate Melissa Dobbyn to attend the 2016 International Medical Symposium in March 2016. The symposium aimed to identify and begin to address the future challenges for the medical profession. The attendees reported on the symposium during NZRDA delegate training.

Download the brochure

Individual funding

Dr Sam Holford talks in the video below about the process of applying to the NZRDA Education Trust for a grant to produce a podcast series for RMO education.

Ward Calls Podcast

The Ward Calls podcast dissects common ward calls you will need to confidently manage as a PGY1 doctor and beyond. We discuss practical, safe and comprehensive approaches that are achievable in the limited time available when working on the ward. The podcast is co-hosted by RMOs Dr Vani Chandran and Dr Sam Holford.

Other Individual Funding

The Trust sponsored Dr James McKay in the completion of a Masters degree in trauma sciences, allowing him to develop skills and knowledge that he can use to educate other RMOs in trauma care in a variety of clinical settings, but particularly general surgery. Dr McKay’s report is forthcoming.

With a particular interest in leadership and a passion for teaching, Dr Oscar Lyon was funded by the Trust to attend several international conferences. Though this work, Dr Lyons developed his skills in existing and new education paradigms and built important networks with medical educators and researchers, activities which will be of benefit to NZ RMOs in general. Read his Trust report.

Terms and conditions

a) Financial assistance from the Trust is discretionary and not an entitlement, andb) A venture cannot be funded outside these objects.

A recipient, having received the Trust’s approval, agrees to use the funds responsibly and not to act in any way that may bring the Trust into disrepute.

Payments can be made to individuals, not-for-profit organisations, or bodies subject to any reasonable and proper conditions as the Trustees may direct.

Payments will be conditional on the project taking place or on the recipient completing any required preliminary steps set by third parties; for example, acceptance on a particular course if that is what is being applied for. The Trustees can, however, at their discretion defer the timing of the payments if need be or approve a second preference course if the first isn’t available.

Financial support will generally be by way of a one-off payment. Should longer-term projects lend themselves to a progress payment arrangement, recipients will need to acknowledge in particular that:

i. The Trust’s relationship with the recipient is not intended by the Trust to be that of employer/employee, nor does the recipient intend it to be such.ii. The payments from the Trust are stated as gross amounts, exclusive of GST or other tax (if any).iii. The recipients are responsible for their own taxes (if any).

Recipients may be required to provide evidence of the funds being used appropriately.

The Trust acknowledges it is collecting personal information about the applicant for the purpose of considering their application. By applying for support from the Trust, successful applicants authorise the Trust and third parties (e.g. NZRDA) to use information and knowledge gained from the support, such as information relating to the results of any research performed, any photos taken, etc, of recipients in promotional material.

It is agreed by the recipients that any breach of these clauses, or any anticipated inevitable breach, may result in all monies received needing to be refunded to the Trust within one month of notification by the Trust. In addition any other costs incurred by the Trust in relation to the grant/support must also be paid to the Trust.

Recipients will be required to acknowledge the terms of the grant/support in writing.

The Trust aims to consider all applications in keeping with the stated objects of the Trust in April and October of each year but are happy to receive applications at any time. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The decisions of the Trust are final. The Trust will not enter into correspondence about the outcomes of a funding decision.